breaking news - university of washington · breaking news reports 08–09 cindy moyer, john emig,...

C oa s ta l o b s e rvat i o n a n d s e a b i r d s u rv e y t e a m

Breaking News

Reports 08–09Cindy Moyer, John Emig, Ken Burton and Joelle

Peebles at Mad River Park North also had fewer birds than most California COASSTers, but no shortage of cool finds: in December, evidence of the beach being used by beavers; in March, a strange green stain (we’ve tentatively identified as bile) on the wing of a grebe; and in May, two dead harbor seals and a flock of Turkey Vultures circling overhead.

In January on Murray Road Beach, it was a message in a bottle, not a bird find that lead Gary and Lauren Lester to contact Terry Schulz. In COASST’s most unique volunteer recruitment story ever, Terry and his wife Kimberly teamed up with Gary to take on Gary’s 4th beach, Clam Beach South.

Oregon SouthSeptember marked the “retirement” of Dave and Diane Bilderback and Mary Lou Letsom from Oregon Mile 175’s power team, which also includes Val Knox, Anne Caples, Cindy, Sean and Sarah Burns, and Bill Hager. “Our last Friday with the whole gang! Oh so many good laughs and walks with such good people,” remarked Anne.

Just when we thought things were starting to settle down, what would become COASST’s biggest story was lurking just offshore: a tiny alga that would wreak havoc on thousands of scoters on the north coast of Washington and a host of species on the Long Beach Peninsula. Perhaps it was a bit of beached bird payback, since the COASST May–June year yielded only 2488 carcasses (about half as many as 2007–2008).

HumboldtAfter last year’s Fourth of July fireworks coincided with the beginning of Common Murre fledging from Castle Rock, Sky Loyd and Eileen Cooper were glad to have missed an onslaught of chicks on their beaches–Battery Point North and South: “No wreck. Common Murres fledged late, were not out 'til after the 4th.”

August was the month for fledging, at least on some beaches. After making their way through 17 Common Murre chicks on South Spit, Grace and Don Wheeler might have had “beach envy” over Dick Reese’s Stamps South August survey just up the road: “no birds, feathers only.”

An elk—no, Dave Easton emerges

from the shadows on Duk Point,

North Coast of Washington.Photo: Courtesy of D. Easton

ma

y

1

2

Keystone Spit S

S LagoonPratt Bluff

Maxwelton

Ebey’s LandingPerego’s Lagoon

Double Bluff

Point Hammond

Yellow Island

Pearl Island Westsound

S ObstructionW Obstruction

South Beach E

Eagle Cove

South Beach W

Jackson Beach

False Bay

Grandma’s Cove

Deadman Bay

Indian Beach

Camp OrkilaN Mail Bay

President’s Channel N

N Swifts Bay

Griffin Bay

John’s Pass

Hobuck Beach

Shi Shi

Sand Point N

Third BeachRuby Beach

Point No

Copalis Rocks

S Butterclam

N Jetty

S SurfsideOcean Park N

Lyre Creek

Seiku River W

Ediz Hook

Elwha W

Dungeness Spit 1–2

Gray’s Marsh

Ocean Park S

Damon Point E

Sand Point S

Wedding Rocks

Kalaloch N

Second Beach

Whiskey CrTongue Pt

Port Williams

Shipwreck Pt

McCurdy Pt

Pt Wilson

Marine View Drive

Westhaven

Indian Island S

Guemes Island

Discovery Pk NDiscovery Pk S

Semiahmoo Spit

Locust Ave SLocust Ave N

Cape George

Port Williams N

Rialto JettyEllen Creek

Richmond Beach

Golden Gardens

Alki

Edmonds MarinaBrackett’s Landing

Thompson Spit

Sooes S

Kalaloch S

Dash Point St PkRoosevelt Beach

March Point

Walker County Pk

North Head Lighthouse NNorth Head Lighthouse S

Island View

Twin River

Travis SpitOlympus

Admiralty Inlet

Priest Pt

Point Grenville

Beach 3

Slip PtDungeness Spit 0–1

Blyn

Lincoln Pk

Sooes N

Beach 1Beach 2

Hole in the Wall

Pacific BeachRaft River

Dungeness Bluffs


Ennis Creek

Freshwater Bay

Hollywood

Three Crabs

Fort Flagler

Picnic Pt

Ed Munro Seahurst Pk

Semiahmoo Marina

Shannon Pt

Warm Beach

S Taurus

Fort Casey

Hastie Lake Rd S

Possession Beach

Country Club N

Elger Bay

English Boom Preserve

Long Beach NMadrona

N Lagoon

Fort Flagler E

1

2

3

KVI BeachCove S

Point Robinson

Point Vashon SMcCleod Beach

Magnolia Beach

Hoh River

Twin Harbors

Damon Point W

North Jetty to Cape D

Long Beach-143rdCranberry Rd NCranberry Rd S

Half Moon Bay

Carkeek Park

Sunset Beach

Little Skookum

Lighthouse Park

Green Point

Wa-atch

Duk Point

Grayland N

Ocean City

Seaview

Beckett Point

Saltwater St Pk

Sandy Shores

Ships Harbor

Padilla

Useless Bay

Jacobsen JettyMidway

Griffiths Priday SP

Dune

First Beach


Diamond Pt NDiamond Pt E

Middle Pt

Anacortes Kiwanis

Bowman BayBay

Deception Pass WDeception Pass N

Cama BeachCountry Club S

Howarth PkMukilteo

Point

Tulare

Skyline Marina

Sucia Dr NSucia Dr S

Kayak Pt

Jensen Pt


North Coast

Mad River NMoonstone

Garth BeachBattery Point N

Battery Point S

Samoa Bay St N

Pebble Beach Enderts

Trinidad State Beach

Mad River SMalel’l NStamps S

S Spit 2S SpitEel River N

False Klamath Cove

Samoa Bay St S

Big Lagoon

Clam Beach NCrannell

Murray Rd

N Pebble Beach

Stone Lagoon

South Beach

Agate Beach

ORMI 196

ORMI 255ORMI 254

ORMI 241

ORMI 300

ORMI 327

ORMI 286

Bullards Beach N

ORMI 96

ORMI 175

Arcadia Beach

ORMI 266

ORMI 168

ORMI 99

Tenmile Beach

Peter Iredale N

Bob Straub SP

Nehalem Bay SP

Gov Patterson SP

Roads End

Nye N Nye S

Oceanside Happy Camp

Gearhart

Seal Rock

Roads End S

Short Sands

Bob Creek

Fishing Rock N

ORMI 243

ORMI 214

Bastendorff

Bullards Beach S

Strait

Puget Sound

South Coast

Keystone Spit S

S LagoonPratt Bluff

Maxwelton


Double Bluff

Point Hammond

Yellow Island



South Beach E

Eagle Cove

South Beach W

Jackson Beach

False Bay

Grandma’s Cove

Deadman Bay

Indian Beach



N Swifts Bay

Griffin Bay

John’s Pass

Hobuck Beach

Shi Shi

Sand Point N


Point No

Copalis Rocks

S Butterclam

N Jetty


Lyre Creek

Seiku River W

Ediz Hook

Elwha W


Gray’s Marsh

Ocean Park S

Damon Point E

Sand Point S

Wedding Rocks

Kalaloch N

Second Beach

Whiskey CrTongue Pt

Port Williams

Shipwreck Pt

McCurdy Pt

Pt Wilson

Marine View Drive

Westhaven

Indian Island S

Guemes Island


Semiahmoo Spit


Cape George

Port Williams N


Richmond Beach

Golden Gardens

Alki


Thompson Spit

Sooes S

Kalaloch S


March Point

Walker County Pk


Island View

Twin River

Travis SpitOlympus

Admiralty Inlet

Priest Pt

Point Grenville

Beach 3


Blyn

Lincoln Pk

Sooes N

Beach 1Beach 2

Hole in the Wall


Dungeness Bluffs


Ennis Creek

Freshwater Bay

Hollywood

Three Crabs

Fort Flagler

Picnic Pt


Semiahmoo Marina

Shannon Pt

Warm Beach

S Taurus

Fort Casey

Hastie Lake Rd S

Possession Beach

Country Club N

Elger Bay


Long Beach NMadrona

N Lagoon

Fort Flagler E

1

2

3

KVI BeachCove S

Point Robinson


Magnolia Beach

Hoh River

Twin Harbors

Damon Point W



Half Moon Bay

Carkeek Park

Sunset Beach

Little Skookum

Lighthouse Park

Green Point

Wa-atch

Duk Point

Grayland N

Ocean City

Seaview

Beckett Point

Saltwater St Pk

Sandy Shores

Ships Harbor

Padilla

Useless Bay


Griffiths Priday SP

Dune

First Beach



Middle Pt

Anacortes Kiwanis

Bowman BayBay



Howarth PkMukilteo

Point

Tulare

Skyline Marina


Kayak Pt

Jensen Pt


Keystone Spit S

S LagoonPratt Bluff

Maxwelton


Double Bluff

Point Hammond

Yellow Island



South Beach E

Eagle Cove

South Beach W

Jackson Beach

False Bay

Grandma’s Cove

Deadman Bay

Indian Beach



N Swifts Bay

Griffin Bay

John’s Pass

Hobuck Beach

Shi Shi

Sand Point N


Point No

Copalis Rocks

S Butterclam

N Jetty


Lyre Creek

Seiku River W

Ediz Hook

Elwha W


Gray’s Marsh

Ocean Park S

Damon Point E

Sand Point S

Wedding Rocks

Kalaloch N

Second Beach

Whiskey CrTongue Pt

Port Williams

Shipwreck Pt

McCurdy Pt

Pt Wilson

Marine View Drive

Westhaven

Indian Island S

Guemes Island


Semiahmoo Spit


Cape George

Port Williams N


Richmond Beach

Golden Gardens

Alki


Thompson Spit

Sooes S

Kalaloch S


March Point

Walker County Pk


Island View

Twin River

Travis SpitOlympus

Admiralty Inlet

Priest Pt

Point Grenville

Beach 3


Blyn

Lincoln Pk

Sooes N

Beach 1Beach 2

Hole in the Wall


Dungeness Bluffs


Ennis Creek

Freshwater Bay

Hollywood

Three Crabs

Fort Flagler

Picnic Pt


Semiahmoo Marina

Shannon Pt

Warm Beach

S Taurus

Fort Casey

Hastie Lake Rd S

Possession Beach

Country Club N

Elger Bay


Long Beach NMadrona

N Lagoon

Fort Flagler E

1

2

3

KVI BeachCove S

Point Robinson


Magnolia Beach

Hoh River

Twin Harbors

Damon Point W



Half Moon Bay

Carkeek Park

Sunset Beach

Little Skookum

Lighthouse Park

Green Point

Wa-atch

Duk Point

Grayland N

Ocean City

Seaview

Beckett Point

Saltwater St Pk

Sandy Shores

Ships Harbor

Padilla

Useless Bay


Griffiths Priday SP

Dune

First Beach



Middle Pt

Anacortes Kiwanis

Bowman BayBay



Howarth PkMukilteo

Point

Tulare

Skyline Marina


Kayak Pt

Jensen Pt


2. Whidbey and Camano Islands

3. Vashon Island

1. San Juan Islands

Oregon North

Oregon South

Humboldt, CA

3

upon a Northern Pintail (NOPI) in October and a Northern Shoveler and Greater Scaup (GRSC) in February. In April, Kathy and Brian Linnell matched those with a NOPI and GRSC of their own on Ocean City North Beach. Janice Havrilak completed the waterfowl troika with a set of Gadwall wings found on Damon Point West in February.

Midway Beach, surveyed by Nancy Fischer and Steve Young, faces the same problem as Janice’s beach: erosion. Located at the most rapid erosion site on the US Pacific Coast, the Cape Shoalwater area lost about 124 feet per year between 1890 and 1965. Winter storms wreaked havoc on the dunes this year, creating a precipitous drop-off to the beach, “the access road is essentially gone, so you must walk on top of the dunes for quite a while to get to a spot where you can access the beach!”

After a good, long, three-hour drive to Griffith’s Priday State Park in May, Terry Risdon, and Carl and Matt Haynie found two “once-in-a-lifetime” finds on their second survey ever: a Black-footed Albatross and an oiled Common Murre with classic bathtub ring stain.

North Coast (WA)Dave Easton’s survey of Duk Point in August was teeming with life (not something we can say very often on a hunt for beached birds). What caught Dave’s eye weren’t birds, but a swarm of bugs in the last throes of summer, “thousands of small black kelp flies carpeting the sand around the rocks and logs.”

As luck would have it, no rarities that month, but come November, Anne found “more live gulls in the past week than ever before.”

In October, the Bilderbacks recorded the second incident of a cormorant entangled in a crab snare in Oregon (the first from BJ Byron on an informal walk of Oregon Mile 286 in August, 2007). The snares, which are set using recreational fishing rods, catch crabs attracted to a small bait box, but can also unintentionally snag birds feeding off jettys and piers. Years of COASST data indicate that bycatch in recreational gear is a small but steady source of mortality for cormorants, murres and gulls.

Bill and Jolene Poppe may have found only one bird on their June survey of Tenmile Beach, but they certainly picked up the molt signal: “lots of single feathers reside in the wrack area up and down the beach.”

Oregon NorthBy smell or by size it was hard to miss the male Steller Sea Lion carcass that washed ashore in August on Barbara Linnett’s beach, Arcadia. Measuring just over 3 meters (11 ft), these guys are the true heavyweights of the North Pacific, with a slight edge over their close cousin, the California Sea Lion.

Max Smith and Sarah Swanson’s lone Long-billed Curlew on Bob Straub Beach in May made our new species list. Relative to other curlews, whimbrels and godwits, Long-billed Curlews are short-distance migrants, with only a two-day commute from wintering locations to inland breeding sites. A tiny Song Sparrow didn’t escape the eyes of Jann Luesse, Pat Reynolds and Lori Sinnen on their February survey of Oregon Mile 327, adding yet another new species to our list.

With the Brown Pelican (BRPE) population on the rise and expanding northward, Pacific Northwest COASSTers can expect to find an increase in both beached and live sightings. This year, pelican finds were up 2% over the long-term pattern. Steve Small and Carol Cwiklinski documented their beached BRPE peak in December and January surveys of Oceanside (21 total!), while Rick and Janet Anderson caught the live peak of southward migration on Mile 243 in November: “counted 474 pelicans in 15 minutes!”

South Coast (WA)South Butterclam, situated right next to Duck Lake and a labyrinth of freshwater ponds and channels, is the clearing-house for waterfowl finds—Mike and Barbara Patton came

The Haynie/Risdon team used their CSI skills to spot the

classic mark of oil on this Common Murre.

T. R

isdon

classic mark of oil

4

San JuansAfter joining COASST in April, Monika Wieland roped in a quick catch—not on her beach, Griffin Bay (on San Juan Island), but in Oregon—her dad Rainer. After two months of Monika’s surveys on Griffin Bay and one month of Rainer’s at Happy Camp (near Tillamook), they’re neck-and-neck for the first bird find.

Robin Donnelly doesn’t just jaunt out her front door to her COASST beach, she visits by kayak, careful to look for a good weather window during the winter months. Yet to find a bird, Robin is always on the look-out for (dead) birds, “also surveyed some of Henry Island, Mosquito Pass and Westcott Bay in Jan and Feb.”

Stan Wagner found one of the region’s two birds this year, a subadult Glaucous-winged Gull in December at President’s Channel North. From the sounds of it, Waldron was teeming with life during the summer months: at Clay Point, “a green-brown plankton bloom” was spotted in August by Julie Loyd, who also reported “fingerling salmonids in the shallows” at Point Hammond.

Puget SoundTom Richards worked hard this year as a spokesman for COASST in Anacortes, “gave COASST flyers to three people today.” Not only that, in October, he and Tim Manns found COASST’s only Barred Owl this year. Outcompeting the smaller Spotted Owl, Barred Owls are on the rise in the Pacific Northwest.

On a July survey of Deception Pass North, humans came out ahead of dead birds 159 to zero. Seasonal

A smorgasbord of alcids lay waiting for Ken and Mary Campbell on their October survey of Sooes North—one each of a Common Murre, Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet and Cassin’s Auklet. October also brought five Greater White-fronted Goose finds to the North Coast, two of which were found by the “Sue duo,” Sue Shane and Sue Keilman: one on First Beach and one on Second Beach.

Wa-atch Beach also draws dead birds, only Paul and Sally Parker rarely get the chance to count them, “no birds, but did see an eagle flying to its nest right above Wa-atch Point with some type of seabird dangling from its talons!” They did, however, get to count the people and dogs that day, “a family of five and two dogs waded across the mouth of the river from Hobuck Beach to Wa-atch,” which local folks know is not so easy to do!

StraitWith birds generally few and far between, the surveys in the Strait and Puget Sound carry a bit more of that element of surprise. This was certainly true for Kathleen and Gus Ninneman on their November survey of Freshwater Bay, “a guy pulled up, jumped out and dumped a pail of (fish) guts in the water.” No dead birds found, but live birds would soon get the word about this lunch delivery.

It seems that Hollywood Beach gets its fair share of drama too—it was closed in December due to sewage outflow issues; in February, Jaci Pumphrey reported “no dead birds but just off survey area, I did find a dead boat” (the attached article read, “PA man’s second boat runs ashore—owner claims someone pushed the vessel”) and a molting female Elephant Seal in April (attached article read, “beached seal moved to Ediz Hook”).

Continuing in this craziness, Sharon Cox and Jeanne Pumphrey found a large metal canister on Whiskey Creek in April, inscribed (in French), “Dangerous material. Warning. Contact the police or military.” The quick- thinking COASSTers did the right thing and called authorities to remove this military flare casing.

Watch where you step! Sharon Cox and Jeanne

Pumphrey reported this metal flare casing to the proper

authorities for disposal. J. P

umph

rey

5

Anchor River S

Bishop’s Beach E

Northwestern SpitNorth Verdant Cove

Pederson PeninsulaSouth Bulldog Cove

James LagoonYalik Glacier

Bishop’s Beach WBishop’s Beach Mid

Airport BeachLowell Point N

Afognak Beach

Tonsina

Peterson Bay

Seward WaterfrontLowell Point S

Spring Creek

Buldir Transect A

Buldir Transect EBuldir Transect DBuldir Transect CBuldir Transect B

Benson Beach N

PolovinaLukanin S

Zappa

North Beach

Staraya Artil

Halibut Point Rec

Seamart to Sandy

Kruzof Kamenoi

Old Camp to New

PalisadesNE Neumann IslandCape Glazenap

Kanakanak

Cannery N

Kenai N

Harbor MouthDiamond Creek W

Homer Spit Mid

Barge Basin N

Southwest Stretch

Mariner ParkMiller’s LandingMud Bay

Cold Bay Dock SNW Cold Bay

South BeachLanding Cove

Land’s End

John Brown’s BeachSpruce CapeJewel Beach

White Sands

Kruzof SWKruzof SE

Sitka Historic Park

Buggy Beach

Auke Rec

False Outer PtBoy Scout Beach

Douglas Pt SW

Mendenhall PeninsulaEagle Beach

Sandy BeachShrine of St Therese

Aleutian Islands

Bering Sea

Southeast Alaska

visitation patterns, which COASSTers like Jeff and Chris Wood document via human and vehicle counts are—not surprisingly—most pronounced on “high traffic” beaches where summer peaks are 20 times winter lows. Looming clouds and chilly temperatures might keep people away, but the sheltered waters of Puget Sound are a bird’s delight, “100+ Red-throated Loons just to the north on the water or flying to and fro in the direction of Deception Pass,” wrote Tim Manns and Jack Hartt.

“Waterfowl” = “wings only” for most COASST finds, but in Lee Chavez and Nicole Luce’s case, a single head of a male Northern Pintail was found, not a feather more. Not even a single head graced Al Standish’s beach, Fort Flagler, but there had certainly been visitors, “two eagle perching sites with extensive feathers. Suspect they are lunching on seabirds.”

Southeast AlaskaLike the rest of Southeast Alaska COASSTers, Gary Frietag got skunked in the dead bird department this year, but there was still lots of action on Ketchikan’s Buggy Beach—Bald Eagles on the hunt, a Great Blue Heron and a bunch of loafing gulls taking turns cleaning off in a nearby stream.

The same rings true to Pat Harris, on her November survey of Mendenhall Peninsula: “a very vigilant eagle family patrols the survey beach. I suspect beached birds are quickly

scavenged.” Statewide, COASST found no difference in the persistence of tagged carcasses in Alaska versus the lower 48, but that doesn’t count those “pre-finds” snatched by raptors before COASSTers even arrive.

About December, when it stops raining in Juneau, it starts snowing. In February, Pat Watt sent photos of the meter high drifts, “couldn’t get through the snow to the beach,” and in March, “still too much snow—looked like nothing had melted and more was added since last time.”

Instead of big snow drifts, Sue Baxter and Dave Sturdevant had to contend with 30–45 cm deep wrack piles—“large, deep, dense piles compiled entirely of fucus,” making False Outer Point look like it was in competition for the largest sushi roll prize.

Gulf of Alaska

6

Gulf of AlaskaWhen it rains it pours—after months of no birds, Christina Whiting and Will Schlein found three on their survey of Barge Basin North in August, including this year’s only Surfbird, in near perfect condition. Spring brings the arrival of thousands of Surfbirds to Kachemak Bay and nearby Prince William Sound, the last and most concentrated migration stopover points before birds head inland to breed.

Every season brings a menagerie of “culprits” that disrupt COASST surveys in Alaska—bears, moose, rogue ice chunks, hauled-out seals, cold temps, flooded winter streams. Just ask Jim and Elizabeth Smith, who survey Cold Bay Dock South, “No survey in October. Went to the beach twice and both times a brown bear was on the beach. He can have it!”

Last March, COASST added volcanoes to the list. That’s right, the eruption of Mount Redoubt not only disrupted air travel for a few days, but it also covered Frank Vondersaar and Neil Wagner’s beach, Bishops Beach West, with 7.5 cm of fine ash. When things steamed up, Kathy East even snapped a few photos from her survey of Cannery Beach, “I happened to see it when it started smoking today, pretty awesome!”

Aleutian IslandsVolcanoes were the “hot topic” of the Aleutians, too. After being dropped off to spend the summer doing seabird colony work on Kasatochi Island, Ray Buchheit and Chris Ford knew they were in for a lot of long days, but those would be cut short in early August. Within days, pre-eruption earthquakes had increased with such intensity that a nearby fishing vessel was the only boat close enough to launch a rescue in time. Ray and Chris escaped just hours before the

mountain erupted, burying the refuge cabin under 30 meters of ash and decimating the Crested and Least Auklet colonies.

Kevin Payne and Bob Keller, working on Buldir Island, didn’t have to run for their lives this summer, but they did have their hands full covering five beach segments, one of which sported COASST’s first female Harlequin Duck in June. The team also checked off two of three Horned Puffins found COASST-wide this year—the other, a wintering bird off the coast of Oregon found by Nathan Breece and Dan Battaglia on Nye South.

Bering SeaKristine Sowl and Lucretia Fairchild weren’t the only ones checking out what the tide washed in on Cape Glazenap (outside of Cold Bay) in August, “fox, brown bear and wolf made frequent diggings in wrack.” But no time to watch— this team has to fit in at least a three-hour survey and three- hour boat ride out and back to their home base. Kristine and Mary Bozza had just enough time in October to check off the fourth and final new species for COASST this year: a Bar-tailed Godwit, just two wings.

Summer seas washed in plenty to keep Claudia Mischler busy—between June and August, Claudia recorded five murres, two fulmars, two Black-legged Kittiwakes and a rare, but intact Crested Auklet (one of seven COASST-wide) across Zappa and Staraya Artil on St. George Island.

Summer marks the arrival of millions of Sooty Shearwaters that make a trans-equatorial migration to feed on readily abundant prey along the ocean shelf. Dustin Jones, Phil Zavadil and Richard Warner documented the shearwater spike on their September survey of North Beach, St. Paul Island (seven finds) just as birds were headed back to the Southern Hemisphere. n

A beautiful day on Buggy Beach in Ketchikan, Alaska, one of 39 new COASST beaches this year.

7Opposite photo: G. Freitag

Entangled Birds Large Immature Gull Copalis Rocks (WA) 1 Grayland North (WA) 1

Second Beach (WA) 1

Western Gull Crannell Beach (CA) 2

Crannell Beach (CA) 2

Mile 168 (OR) 2

Common Murre Bob Straub State Pk (OR) 2

Eel River North (CA) 2

Brown Pelican Oceanside (OR) 3

Chicken Cranberry Rd S. (WA) 4

Glaucous-winged Gull Tonsina (AK) 1

Pelagic Cormorant Mile 99 (OR) 2

Oiled Birds Common Murre Battery Point N (CA) Griffiths Priday State Pk (WA) Sooes North (WA)

Pacific Loon Mile 99 (OR)

Mortality Related to Human Activities: Oiled & Entangled Birds

1 Hook, 2 Line, 3 Rope, 4 Twine

Entangled birds, always a small percentage of total finds—this year .48%—included the usual suspects (to date: 33 gulls, 23 murres and 9 cormorants) and two new ones, Brown Pelican (a species delisted in February 2009) and the common chicken…

Oiled birds, at .16% of finds this year, included the first loon.

J. D

olliv

er

Found 1/24/09

Pacific Beach

(North Coast, WA)

Bill: 54 mm

Wing: 28 cm

Tarsus: 72 mm

The COASST QuizA

C

Found 5/01/09

Oregon Mile 175

(Oregon South)

Bill: 40 mm

Wing: 29 cm

Tarsus: 58 mmm

V. K

nox

B

Found 8/2/08

Buldir Island

Transect A

(Aleutian Islands)

Bill: 16 mm

Wing: 14 cm

Tarsus: 31 mmAM

NW

R S

easo

nal S

taff

—answers on page 16

7

8

Beached Birds Identified to Species

8

yr yr yr yr yr yr yr yr yr total total sPeCies 10 # 10 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 4 % 3 % # %

Common Murre 11 799 35.7 26.6 19.5 28.8 47.0 17.7 24.0 23.5 5084 27.8Large Immature Gull 260 11.6 9.0 10.6 10.8 13.3 7.6 10.6 18.6 1926 10.5Northern Fulmar 198 8.8 30.5 9.5 12.4 8.0 57.2 23.9 8.4 4171 22.8Glaucous-winged Gull 99 4.4 3.4 6.1 2.4 3.8 2.0 3.3 4.0 650 3.6Western Gull 97 4.3 3.0 5.3 1.7 3.2 0.9 1.8 2.4 505 2.8Brandt’s Cormorant 11 86 3.8 4.4 3.0 3.8 3.3 1.2 1.9 2.4 578 3.2Brown Pelican 66 2.9 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.2 115 0.6Sooty Shearwater 13 57 2.5 1.1 1.0 1.2 2.1 0.9 2.3 7.2 306 1.7Rhinoceros Auklet 10 44 2.0 2.2 13.2 10.3 1.5 1.0 1.4 1.8 786 4.3Western Grebe 11 44 2.0 2.7 3.4 6.5 0.8 1.0 2.7 7.2 543 3.0Black-legged Kittiwake 40 1.8 0.7 2.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 2.1 155 0.8Dunlin 31 1.4 0.1 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.2 37 0.2Cassin’s Auklet 10, 11, 12 29 1.3 0.7 4.7 5.8 2.0 1.0 1.4 2.4 422 2.3Pelagic Cormorant 29 1.3 1.7 2.1 1.7 2.7 1.3 2.5 1.3 326 1.8Surf Scoter 22 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.5 0.5 177 1.0Black-footed Albatross 13 20 0.9 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.2 1.3 98 0.5California Gull 19 0.8 0.5 1.1 1.2 0.7 0.5 1.4 2.1 163 0.9Pigeon Guillemot 16 0.7 0.5 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.5 0.9 0.2 133 0.7Double-crested Cormorant 14 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.3 107 0.6Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 12 13 0.6 0.6 1.5 0.6 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.8 106 0.6Greater White-fronted Goose 13 0.6 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.2 17 0.1Ancient Murrelet 13 12 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 48 0.3Northern Pintail 12 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 43 0.2White-winged Scoter 12 0.5 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.0 0.5 0.8 1.0 172 0.9Common Loon 9 10 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 94 0.5Pacific Loon 10 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.8 0.6 83 0.5Parakeet Auklet 10 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 22 0.1Canada Goose 9 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.03 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.3 53 0.3Short-tailed Shearwater 9 0.4 1.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.1 0.4 1.3 152 0.8Tufted Puffin 10, 11, 12 9 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.5 53 0.3Snow Goose 8 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.03 18 0.1Caspian Tern 7 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.6 69 0.4Crested Auklet 7 0.3 0.05 0.1 11 0.1Pink-footed Shearwater 13 7 0.3 0.02 0.1 0.1 12 0.1American Crow 6 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 1.0 57 0.3Heermann’s Gull 13 6 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 52 0.3Herring Gull 6 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 27 0.1Mew Gull 6 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.8 32 0.2Rock Dove 6 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.1 23 0.1Thick-billed Murre 6 0.3 0.1 0.1 13 0.1Whimbrel 6 0.3 0.05 0.05 0.1 10 0.1Bonaparte’s Gull 5 0.2 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.04 0.1 13 0.1Bufflehead 5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 29 0.2Greater Scaup 5 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.2 25 0.1Green-winged Teal 5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.04 0.2 29 0.2Mallard 5 0.2 0.05 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 34 0.2

9

Total finds include all first-found birds. Refinds not included in totals. Note that major species—accounting for greater than 5% in any COASST year—are in bold. Only species found in Year 10 are listed. Cumulative totals for each species are listed in the right-hand darker-shaded columns.

yr yr yr yr yr yr yr yr yr total total sPeCies 10 # 10 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 4 % 3 % # %

Marbled Murrelet 2, 6, 7, 8, 13 5 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.6 43 0.2 Red-legged Kittiwake 13 4 0.2 0.02 0.1 0.03 7 0.04Leach’s Storm-Petrel 3 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6 26 0.1Red-necked Grebe 3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 17 0.1American Coot 2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.03 0.04 19 0.1Barred Owl 2 0.1 0.02 3 0.02Brant Goose 12 2 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 8 0.04Common Merganser 2 0.1 0.1 0.05 0.1 5 0.03Great Blue Heron 2 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.04 0.1 14 0.1Horned Grebe 2 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.2 9 0.05Horned Puffin 2 0.1 0.1 2.6 0.1 0.3 68 0.4Laysan Albatross 13 2 0.1 0.03 3 0.02Northwestern Crow 2 0.1 0.1 6 0.03Red-throated Loon 2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.3 27 0.1Bar-tailed Godwit 13 1 0.04 1 0.01Black Oystercatcher 10 1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.2 4 0.02Chicken 1 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.1 5 0.03Common Eider 1 0.04 1 0.01Gadwall 1 0.04 0.1 2 0.01Harlequin Duck 3, 12 1 0.04 1 0.01Lesser Scaup 1 0.04 0.1 2 0.01Long-billed Curlew 10, 13 1 0.04 1 0.01Mottled Petrel 1 0.04 0.1 0.1 5 0.03Northern Shoveler 1 0.04 0.02 0.1 0.1 5 0.03Red Phalarope 1 0.04 0.02 0.1 1.6 0.05 0.4 10.7 0.3 221 1.2Red-necked Phalarope 1 0.04 0.05 3 0.02Ring-billed Gull 1 0.04 0.02 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.2 10 0.1Ring-necked Pheasant 1 0.04 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.05 6 0.03Sanderling 13 1 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.1 0.1 8 0.04Song Sparrow 1 0.04 1 0.01Steller’s Jay 1 0.04 0.02 2 0.01Surfbird 13 1 0.04 0.05 2 0.01Varied Thrush 1 0.04 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.04 16 0.1Western Sandpiper 13 1 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.2 7 0.04

total id to sPeCies 2240 4088 1920 2895 2096 2733 1464 622 18058

total Finds 2488 4623 2186 3094 2258 2866 1568 695 20094

total sPeCies 80 90 80 76 57 61 57 54 124

9

SPECIES OF CONCERN: 1 Federally Endangered, 2 Federally Threatened, 3 Federal Species of Concern, 4 WA State Endangered, 5 OR State Endangered, 6 CA State Endangered, 7 WA State Threatened 8 OR State Threatened, 9 WA State Sensitive, 10 OR State Sensitive, 11 WA State Candidate, 12 CA Species of Concern, 13 2007 Audubon WatchList

10

Bars represent the average monthly encounter rate

on all COASST beaches. (Error bars = standard

error) Long-term averages are indicated by the

dark line.

Note the change in the vertical axis scale.

Annual PatternsAcross the COASST range, from northern California to Alaska, the main story for 2008–09 was similar: a very quiet fall, winter and spring, with few carcasses washing in and no apparent mass beaching events (also known as wrecks). In fact, many of you COASSTers called in wondering if you were doing something wrong because there were so few birds. What’s interesting is that you collectively found all of the “correct” species: Common Murres, Large Immature Gulls, and Northern Fulmars, just many fewer of them. This year looks a lot like our long-term species average.

It’s not that the usual patterns weren’t there: Alaska had its usual summer peak, albeit a bit later this year than in previous years. The post-breeding peak is apparent in most lower 48 regions and ghosts of the winter and spring peaks did show up, especially in Oregon North and the south outer coast of Washington.

What’s Up with Winter?Winter is usually a time when birds, stressed from the breeding season and/or migration, simply can’t make it through yet another storm event. As one weather cell after another rolls in from the ocean, pounding the coast with waves and stirring up the nearshore environment such that seabird foragers have difficulty seeing food, or even keeping themselves aloft in buffeting winds, those individuals with only marginal fat levels will find themselves on the short end of the stick, literally starving to death. Winterkill is the single largest cause of marine bird mortality, at least as assessed by beached bird surveys.

Cees Camphuysen, a seabird biologist from the Nether-lands, has spent years researching the causes of death in marine birds. His program is one of the first and oldest beached bird citizen science organizations in the world. In a survey of all known mass beaching events in the North Atlantic through the 1990s, Cees found that more than half occurred during the winter, mostly due to stormy weather and starvation. Betty Ann Schreiber and Joanna Burger, seabird biologists and authors of Biology of Marine Birds, devote an entire chapter to weather effects on birds, and describe winterkill as particularly apparent at local scales, where storm events can endanger the lives of hundreds to thousands of marine birds.

What’s Washed In?

Gulf of Alaska

Aleutian Islands

Bering Sea10

8

4

2

0

1.0

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0.6

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ALASKA

Bump up of shearwaters6

0.4

jun jul aug sep oct nov dec jan feb mar apr may

1.0

0.8

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Southeast Alaska

No bars = no birds

Car

cas

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km

10

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6 Spike in kittiwakes on Buldir Transect D Beach

11

The moral is—expect death in the winter. The COASST data bear this axiom out. In a “normal” year we see elevated numbers of carcasses on our West Coast beaches in November through January, just after the post-breeding pulse of murres has started to decline. Fulmars, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Cassin’s Auklets coming south for the winter hit the beaches on a regular basis, occasionally in very large numbers. Large grebes—the Western and Clark’s migrating out to the coast from their inland breeding territories—are also regular victims of winter exposure. We’ve also had big pulses of shorebirds, like 2002, when hundreds of Red Phalaropes literally fluttered down from the skies, exhausted and emaciated, and died on the beaches. The wreck of 31 Dunlin on Cranberry South, on

lots of murres!

North Coast, WA

South Coast, WA

Oregon North

Car

cas

ses

per

km

Oregon South

OUTER COAST

Humboldt, CA

murres came later than normal Puget Sound

Strait of Juan de Fuca

San Juan Islands

1.0

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0.2

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INSIDE WATERS

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cas

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10

low bars = missing murres, gulls and fulmars

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10 low bars = missing in spring: RHAU, CAAU, NOFU

14

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10


murres came later than normal

12

the south outer coast of Washington in October this year, is another example.

Graphs of the average carcass encounter rate for the winter months in our three longest-running regions: the north and south outer coasts of Washington, and the north coast of Oregon, show how variable the winterkill signal can be. Within a month, each bar equals one year, from 2008–09 on the top to 2002–03 on the bottom. For each region, we’ve drawn a dotted line representing the average plus one standard deviation across all years. That means anything above this threshold is something unusually large—a wreck. One thing to note is that this line is in a different place for each region. As you move south, more birds wash up in the winter, so the threshold value in northern Oregon is about twice that of northern Washington.

Another take-home message is that wrecks vary a lot in their duration and geographic scope. Some events are fairly local in space and time—a single month in a single region—while other beachings go on and on, like the 2003–04 winter mass mortality of Northern Fulmars, which actually stretched from British Columbia down to central California and lasted from November through January. But this past winter, it’s obvious that nothing was going on. Lowest find years are highlighted in maroon. On average it was one of the quietest years COASST has seen, especially along the north coast of Washington

Fall PreviewAfter such a low-key COASST year (2008–09), no one was prepared for this past fall. So we’re breaking with COASST tradition and getting this to you, even though it technically happened in our 2009–10 year. On the 10th of September, Mary Sue Brancato, our Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary coordinator of the north outer coast of Washington and Strait of Juan de Fuca regions, was alerted to an odd event: 127 Surf and White-winged Scoters huddling on Kalaloch Beach. Informed by Li Clinton, Olympic National Park ranger and former COASSTer, Mary Sue quickly realized that something was amiss. Even as COASST was emailing and phoning Washington outer coast COASSTers

Jan

dec

nov

Jan

dec

nov

Jan

dec

nov

2 4 6 8 10 120

12

North Coast, WA

South Coast, WA

Oregon North

Winter Wreck Assessment

Each bar is a monthly average, and those extending beyond the

dotted line (white bars) are winter wrecks. Maroon bars are

especially mild years. Within months, each bar is a year, from

2008–2009 (top) to 2002–2003 (bottom).

low bars = missing RHAU, pulse of red phalaropes in 02–03

fulmars litter beaches all along the coast through the winter of 03–04

early evidence of the 03–04 fulmar wreck that hit Cali-fornia beaches in Dec & Jan

localized fulmar wreck in Dec 05

Carcasses per km

13

S. H

orto

n

concentrations often favor dinoflagellates, and a fall bloom—smaller than in the spring—occurs.

And that’s what happened in spades this fall off Washing-ton and northern Oregon: Akashiwo bloomed, and bloomed, and bloomed. September, October, and well into November, satellite images recorded a massive bloom just off the coast. Satellites can’t confirm the exact species, but water samples can, and plenty of those were collected by Mary Sue and co-workers at OCNMS; Anthony Odell and his colleagues at the Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms Partnership (ORHAB); Tawnya Peterson, a scientist at the Center for Coastal Marine Observation and Prediction (CMOP) working at the mouth of the Columbia River; and Bill Peterson and colleagues at the Hatfield Marine Science Center NOAA lab sampling off of Newport, Oregon.

Peak cell densities varied over that amount of space and time, often reaching more than a million cells per liter. That’s enough to turn the water a shade of rusty brown, echoing the species name sanguinea, or blood-red.

Dinoflagellates, like most phytoplankton, have hard, brittle cell casings, or shells, that protect them from the elements. When cells are healthy, it’s actually pretty difficult to break them open, even with forces as strong as storm waves. But when the cells become unhealthy, Raphael Kudela, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, found that they break much more easily. And this is what happened with Akashiwo.

to get the latest up-to-date information, calls were starting to come in. Five days later, Joe Gilbertson, a biologist with the Hoh Tribe, reported 233 live and dead scoters at Hoh South. One day later, COASSTers Sue Shane, Sue Keilman and Scott Horton surveyed Third Beach and found 185 beached scoters. The death toll was quickly mounting.

Between 10 and 25 September, COASSTers and associated volunteers would count more than 1,000 (mostly dead) Surf and White-Winged Scoters between Hole in the Wall and Raft River. That’s about three times the total number of those species found throughout the entire COASST range since our program started in 1999.

What happened?!?Within days of the first report, beach walkers; biologists with the Hoh, Quileute and Quinault Tribes; Olympic National Park rangers; and COASSTers had also noticed large amounts of dingy tan foam covering the beaches and the water. Foam is not uncommon in wavy coastal marine environments. Like soap suds or the milk in your cappuccino, marine foam gets whipped up by physical agitation, in this case courtesy of storm-driven waves. But it’s not milk in the water, it’s millions and millions of single-celled algae—also known as phytoplankton—breaking apart in the waves and releasing their cell contents to mix with the water. And in this particular case, the culprit was identified by Brian Bill, a marine biologist working in the Marine Biotoxin Group at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, as the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea.

Dinoflagellates are one of two common strains of phytoplankton gracing coastal environments worldwide. The other are diatoms (think diatomaceous earth—the stuff swimming pool filters are made of ). Small enough to float in the water without being seen by the naked eye, dinoflagellates and diatoms occasionally occur in large numbers. In the normal course of events, most coasts experience a huge increase in diatoms in the spring, when longer days and a build-up of nutrients from winter storms create the perfect growing conditions—the spring bloom. But fast growth means cut-throat competition as nutrients in the water are quickly used up. That’s one reason the West Coast is so productive—because spring and summer bring an extra nutrient boost with the start of the upwelling season. In the fall, changing light levels and nutrient

Just a sampling of the 185 Surf Scoters Sue Shane,

Sue Keilman and Scott Horton found on Third Beach

in September.

14

After the first two large storm events at the beginning of September, many, many billions of Akashiwo cells lost their vigor, broke open in the pounding surf, and released their cell contents into the surrounding water. Those same waves quickly whipped the material into a persistent, sticky foam that layered up to half a meter on the surface and covered beaches along the central outer coast. Dubbed “killer foam” by the press, the Akashiwo material coated every floating organism, matting down feathers so that birds could neither fly nor stay dry. Any aquatic bird frequenting this nearshore habitat was a goner.

And in the fall, this region of the outer coast of Wash-ington is exactly where post-breeding Surf and White-winged Scoters come to recover from breeding, molt their flight feathers, and fatten up on the abundant mussels and other shellfish before the onset of winter. Joe Evenson, a seabird biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been studying scoters and their migration patterns for years. Leaping into action, Joe and his team conducted an aerial count of aquatic birds along the nearshore between Cape Flattery and Point Grenville on the 18th of September. Of the 13,000 birds seen within half a kilometer from shore, 93% were scoters, and most of these were crowded into the rocky shoreline typical of the central portion of the coastline, just where the foam was thickest.

Back in the main office, COASST Executive Director Julia Parrish began to put together all of the field data in order to estimate the total mortality. Even with über effort on the part of so many—Mary Sue and Sue Thomas on Second Beach found and processed 195 scoter carcasses in a single day—our dataset paled over the 76 kilometers of coastline and roughly a month of increased deposition. How to fill in the blanks?

Julia turned to the daily survey project database. For just over two years, 80 COASSTers on six beaches conducted between three and ten contiguous days of surveys every month, giving us a dataset as precious as gold. Why? With this information, the rate at which carcasses arrive, stick around, and eventually disappear can be calculated for each location and time of year. Even more important, we could use these data to estimate the rate at which tagged carcasses are subsequently missed. Not because of sloppy surveying, but more likely because blowing sand can quickly bury freshly deposited carcasses, and uncover them later.

With this information, and the statistical services of Professor Andre Punt at the University of Washington, a credible estimate of the total number of scoters beaching during the September 2010 event could be calculated—almost 6,000 birds. Of course, some carcasses didn’t make it to the beach, or beached as live birds only to be driven back into the water by predators. The total mortality was no doubt higher. Asked to testify about the event to the Washington State Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean, and Recreation, Julia put the death toll between 8,000 and 10,000.

By the dozens: Barbara Blackie makes her way through

murres on Hobuck Beach, Washington, in October—part of the

wreck caused by a massive Akashiwo algal bloom affecting

birds from the Columbia River to Cape Flattery.

J. D

olliv

er

15

Number of beaches this year with no dead birds: 130

Number of volunteers this year: 580

Number of new species found this year: 4

Bar-tailed Godwit Harlequin Duck Long-billed Curlew Song Sparrow

Number of US Fish and Wildlife Service banded birds found this year: 2

Black-footed Albatross—Cranberry S. Western Gull—Oregon Mile 286

Most surveys with oil present: Cold Bay Dock S., Bering Sea

COASST’s only boulder beach: Seamart to Sandy Beach, Southeast Alaska

Region with greatest percentage of sunny surveys: South Oregon—51%

(or at least volunteers that know when to head out to the beach)

Number of bears mentioned on surveys in Alaska: 18

Number of bears mentioned in all other regions: 1

COASST at a Glance

15

All quiet on the western front? Not likely.Mary Sue and her ORHAB colleagues continued their

water sampling along the Washington coast, and reported that Akashiwo numbers were still high. More distressing, Bill Peterson reported increasing Akashiwo counts off Newport and Lincoln City. Everyone braced for the worst.

Within a month the foam was back, this time enveloping the south outer coast of Washington between Seaview and South Surfside, and also hitting the northern tip of Washington. Amazingly, the central Washington coast and the northern Oregon shoreline were spared. And although scoters were out of harm’s way, murres, loons and grebes were not so lucky. Penelope Chilton, COASST’s Research Coordinator, spent eight heart- and back-breaking days on the Long Beach Peninsula, helping COASSTers conduct surveys; interfacing with local, state, and federal fish and wildlife personnel; and being a witness to the chaos. Her photographs would ultimately make it into the news media worldwide.

And although the estimate of carcass deposition was not atypical for this time of year, the count of live distressed birds was—more than 800 were taken from the Long Beach Peninsula to rehabilitation centers in Washington, Oregon, and—eventually—California. Many were too far gone to save.

Altogether, the fall 2009 Akashiwo event was the single largest documented kill of seabirds due to a harmful algal bloom anywhere in the world, ever. And what’s worse—it’s not the first time Akashiwo has struck on the West Coast. In 2007, a similar bloom in Monterey Bay left more than 200 carcasses (mostly Northern Fulmars) on the beaches for sister program BeachCOMBERS to count. Hannah Nevins, Coordinator for BeachCOMBERS, said, “we called the Akashiwo bloom a “mystery spill” at first because the birds were fowled with some unidentified substance. It wasn’t until the samples were analyzed at the state lab that we were able to exclude the possibility of a man-made chemical and instead identified the culprit as a dinoflagellate.”

Dave Jessup, Senior Wildlife Veterinarian at the California Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Oil Spill and Prevention, took the lead in writing up the Monterey event for scientific publication. In that article, the authors speculated that fall conditions favoring Akashiwo and producing consequences for marine birds might become more common. Unfortunately, it appears they were right. n

16

Answers to the Quiz

A. With a long neck and thin, straight bill, you might be tempted to call it a grebe, but take a closer look at the foot. And did you catch the pale edging on the mantle? It’s an immature Pacific Loon.

B. As a “large” wing in the wing table, we’re left with loons, kittiwakes, shearwaters, jaegers and fulmars. Only one of these families has a species with a thin, dark, hooked bill and white underwing—Sooty Shearwater, that’s right.

C. This one is small enough to be a juvenile murre or Cassin’s Auklet, but the pale, upturned bill and white breast lead to only one alcid, a Parakeet Auklet.

Project Profile: Roughing it in the Aleutian IslandsIt’s mid May. A flurry of packing and loading is underway: 150 bags of rice, 250 chocolate bars, 100 pounds of potatoes. Batteries—check. Scales and weigh bags—check. COASST guides—check. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge boat the Tiglax (Aleut for “eagle”) is days away from its trek up the Aleutian Island chain to drop off this year’s seasonal field biologists.

For three months every summer, 15 carefully selected candidates are plucked from the comforts of town to spend the summer on seabird colonies. Conditions are rough and unforgiving, at times foggy for days (or weeks!) on end, but nothing hides the stunning beauty of these intricately woven cliffs that rise straight from the sea. “I don’t know of any other islands in North America as remote and untouched as the Aleutians. It’s a remarkable place,” says Heather Renner, wildlife biologist for the refuge.

Refuge lands that encompass more than 2,500 islands, rocks and spires provide a summer home for an estimated 40 million marine birds (80% of Alaska’s seabirds), so the task at hand is not a small one. Lots of daylight hours equals lots of work. “On any given day, crews will check productivity of Crested Auklet crevices, weigh chicks, do a COASST survey, band adult birds and re-sight color-banded birds from previous summers. Long-term monitoring is vital for the management of refuge resources, which are, ultimately, our resources,” Heather emphasizes. And we agree!

More information on this and other projects can be found on our website: http://depts.washington.edu/coasst/involved/learnmore.html.

H. R

enne

r

Alaska Maritime National

Wildlife Refuge’s Supervisory

Wildlife Biologist Vernon Byrd

steps in to secure a skiff on

Attu Island.

16

ˆ

17

Filling the evening air of early summer with its haunting wail and yodel-like call, the Common Loon has long been an inspiration for stories and legends. The Chippewa believed the cry of the loon was a harbinger of death. Tsimshian mythology describes how Common Loons received their distinctive necklace in return for restoring the sight of a tribal leader.

Dressed up in their breeding best—a dark bill, head and neck setting off a white-striped necklace and match-ing boldly checked mantle—Common Loons nest along the shoreline of large secluded lakes throughout northern North America and Europe. They lay just two eggs, and both parents vigorously guard the nest and can be seen taking their chicks for a ride. Sensitive to shoreline develop-ment and boat disturbance, and dependent on lakes large enough to provide plentiful fish and lots of room for take-off and landing, their breeding range has been restricted northward into Canada as development from Maine to Washington has increased. Alaska’s breeding population, however, is large, at 9–13 thousand birds.

Powerful birds built for pursuing small fish, loons have dense bones that act to decrease buoyancy and help them dive to more than 60 meters. With extremely large webbed feet and tarsi as broad and flat as tongue depressors, smelt, herring and sandlance are no match for these fearsome predators. But, what makes them lithe, beautiful swimmers turns loons into cumbersome, awkward creatures on land—with legs located far back on their bodies, loons are unable to walk or even stand. Once airborne, these birds can fly—just under 100 kilometers an hour is their average speed.

Winter finds these birds in the nearshore marine environment of the east, west and gulf coasts, sporting drabber non-breeding plumage—pale gray bill, dark head fading into a pale chin and throat, and few to no spots on the mantle. COASSTers regularly find them all along the coast, from late August to early April. Depending on the year, 5–30, mostly non-breeders, have washed up. Dur-ing the harmful algal bloom wreck of marine birds along the outer Washington coast (see page 14), more than 30 loons washed in, mostly Red-throated. Oil spills can also have negative impacts —just over 70 loons were recovered along the Washington coast following the December 1988 Nestucca oil spill.

In the lower 48, Common Loon populations are small— Washington State has less than 20 known breeding loca-tions, and the species is listed as Sensitive. In addition to development and disturbance, conservation issues include sensitivity to pesticides and heavy metals—most especially lead from recreational fishing sinkers and bio-accumulated mercury from airborne power plant emissions. In an effort to curb the declining numbers of Common Loons, conser-vation efforts involving scientists and citizens are underway throughout North America. Many wildlife agencies have advocated for the use of non-toxic fishing gear, as well as reducing boat and jet-ski disturbance during the breeding season. Citizens have plenty of opportunities to be in-volved. More than 60 volunteers contribute their sightings of breeding Common and Pacific Loons to the Alaska Loon and Grebe Watch program annually. And—of course—COASSTers from California to Alaska help to monitor the wintering distribution of this highly recognizable bird.

Species Profile: Common LoonG. Gumm

18

COASST PeopleVolunteersThis year, COASSTers capped off the daily survey project, an incredible effort of more than 80 people on six beaches, who donated almost 1,000 hours over three years, found 401 birds of more than 30 species, and resampled their marked carcasses 2,828 times. Special thanks to “Olli” Ollikainen’s “Bird Brains” and the Oregon Mile 286 team who never missed a survey in their 10-day-a-month sequence between August 2007 and June 2009.

We literally closed a chapter this year as our new Alaska guide was sent off for printing. Beached Birds: A COASST Guide to Alaska includes photos from 30 volunteers, who, over the years, have had some pretty spectacular shots of rare species—a Red-necked Phalarope photographed by Iris Stober, a Parasitic Jaeger photographed by Connie Owston and a Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaeger with credit to new COASSTer Ken Stenek from Shishmaref, Alaska (where rare birds are the norm).

StaffIn addition to her usual talks, trainings and workshops, Executive Director Julia Parrish pulled out her sketchbook, adding nine new drawings to the newly revised field guide foot key.

As always, staff made their rounds across COASST’s many regions. Penelope scored her first trip to the Great White North for a training in Kodiak and socials in Kenai and Homer (sunniest day in May, we’re told). Jane had another Alaska first—a trip to the Pribilof Islands, for Bering Sea Days. In the spirit of the children’s story, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, if you give Mary Sue and Janet a free weekend, they’ll go out to Hobuck Beach, and then they’ll ask if any of you want to come along (16 said yes this year), and then… well, you know how it goes. Janet, who also manages the Olympic Coast Discovery Center, signed on with COASST this year to help coordinate strait and north coast of Washington beaches with Mary Sue.

InternsEach year, University of Washington student interns contribute 1,200 hours of time in support of the COASST program. This year, we recognize the following students who have helped in the office:

BiologyEdwin Choi Nathan Schmidt* Jessie Dougher* Shaylon Stolk (Amherst College)Raymond Estrada Aline Tran James Maveety* Liz Warfield* Breanna Moore

Program on the EnvironmentChelsey Funis*

Environmental Science and Resource ManagementGrace King*Laura Peot (University of Kentucky)Julie Simmons*, Cum Laude

Aquatic and Fishery SciencesKatie DowellSean RohanErin Tomaras

* Graduated in 2009

Up close and personal, Rainer Wieland photographs a

fulmar on Happy Camp North Beach, Oregon.M. W

iela

nd

19

survey travel volunteer* Hrs Hrs Km

Cindy Burns 20.5 6.5 15.3Ken Burton 1.4 1.3 2.0Gerry Busch 9.5 2.4 14.4Lindsay Busch 9.5 2.4 14.4Rick Bush 31.0 2.8 21.8Kathy Bush 31.0 4.3 20.3Coleman Byrnes 58.8 85.0 70.1B.J. Byron 28.4 8.5 28.8Barbara Campbell 23.1 10.3 30.0Ken Campbell 33.2 54.5 24.0Mary Campbell 33.2 54.5 24.0Trice Caniglia 3.8 0.9 2.0Anne Caples 20.5 6.5 15.3Ricki Carlson 11.9 1.0 12.0Ann Carlson 7.2 4.0 5.6Dana Casey 2.0 0.5 0.7Chris Cassidy 1.0 0.7 0.5Joe Ceriani 35.3 20.0 24.0Lee Chavez 9.8 7.7 14.0Penelope Chilton 29.2 58.3 29.4Joan Christy 15.3 1.8 11.0Susan Clark 30.3 8.7 39.3Debra Clausen 12.3 1.1 35.2Margie Cochrane 3.5 1.0 4.8Jane Comerford 3.3 0.3 3.2Kathleen Confer 23.7 11.0 17.6Steve Confer 23.7 11.0 17.6Roger Contor 21.5 16.2 22.0Susan Contor 21.5 16.2 22.0Eileen Cooper 10.3 1.5 11.7Liz Cosko 2.0 0.7 1.7Michael Courtney 3.8 6.0 3.3Laura Cowan 1.2 0.3 1.5Peggy Cowan 9.5 3.0 16.5Deb Cox 1.3 4.0 1.4Sharon Cox 6.3 6.0 12.0Marty Crowley 2.3 2.4 3.4Elizabeth Cumming-O’Berry 18.3 5.2 13.6Carol Cwiklinski 43.8 19.9 36.0Mary Daniels-Lee 1.7 0.5 1.2David Daniels-Lee 4.6 1.0 3.6Cory Dazey 1.5 1.0 1.2Ed deCastro 3.2 0.3 2.7Lucas DeCicco 4.0 6.4 10.0Juana Del Handy 7.0 2.8 6.6Bill Dengler 22.2 18.0 7.2Sandy Dengler 22.2 18.0 7.2Kim Des Rochers 17.7 18.8 15.0Genie Devine 2.1 3.0 2.3Michael Dick 3.4 20.0 3.4Pam Dick 39.0 20.8 25.3Tasha DiMarzio 8.8 11.4 1.8Paul Dinnel 12.8 7.7 26.4Tina Dinzl-Pederson 5.4 0.3 4.8Linda Doerflinger 5.9 3.3 4.0Jane Dolliver 30.8 26.8 29.1Tom Donnelly 2.0 1.0 1.2Robin Donnelly 18.5 16.3 10.8Bruce Dotterrer 0.4 0.8 0.5Sherri Dougan 6.4 1.4 6.0Ciel Downing 9.5 5.0 9.6

Carmela Alexander 13.2 3.0 19.8Peter Alexander 17.6 3.7 26.4Candace Allen 8.9 1.7 12.5AMNWR Seasonal Staff 26.6 3.0 20.9Mark Anderson 0.8 0.2 1.5Janet Anderson 6.0 0.9 6.4Rick Anderson 6.0 0.9 6.4Hope Anderson 1.9 1.5 2.2Doris Anderson 3.9 6.0 1.6Jerry Anderson 3.9 6.0 1.6Andy Anderson-Smith 2.1 1.5 1.3Nancy Andrich 6.0 1.8 5.1Jo Ann Roberts 29.3 94.1 12.1Ed Ansorg 4.3 3.3 5.0Elizabeth Arch 23.3 6.1 20.4Steve Arch 23.3 6.1 20.4Ken Arzarian 12.3 9.5 24.0Bonnie Ashelman 3.3 3.3 1.7Arthur Ayres 1.0 0.7 2.2Bill Baccus 4.1 13.5 5.0Sophie Barimo 4.9 4.2 2.6Susan Barimo 4.9 4.2 2.6John Barimo 5.1 4.3 2.9Dan Battaglia 14.4 11.7 8.6Susan Baxter 8.8 2.7 4.3Pete Berg 2.5 0.8 2.2Elizabeth Berg 16.2 5.0 13.2Carol Bernthal 1.3 0.2 4.1Chrys Bertolotto 2.8 1.6 6.0Linda Bierma 12.4 3.7 17.5Dave Bilderback 44.0 18.7 30.8Diane Bilderback 44.0 18.7 30.8Diane Birsner 3.2 4.0 4.0Barbara Blackie 4.0 6.0 1.2Wendy Blair 0.9 0.5 1.5Max Blair 17.1 2.1 12.0Paul Blake 28.9 3.0 36.8Alice Blandin 22.6 2.0 15.6Bill Blandin 22.6 2.0 15.6Bent Blichfeldt 14.2 3.6 4.5Miriam Bobkoff 8.6 8.5 6.8Heath Bohlmann 6.2 2.8 8.8Lee Bowen 19.0 13.5 24.7Ed Bowlby 4.4 4.0 2.0Jane Boyden 17.7 6.7 16.0Mary Bozza 9.1 13.9 8.5Mary Sue Brancato 33.4 28.0 14.0 Kim Bredensteiner 0.9 0.8 1.4Nathan Breece 10.4 5.2 6.7Carolyn Breece 11.8 8.7 6.7Martha Briscoe 2.3 1.0 2.4Jeanette Brown 3.5 1.7 2.0Stephen Brown 13.2 3.4 11.0Janet Bruening 14.2 20.0 22.1Jeanne Budlong 1.8 1.4Janis Burger 6.7 4.0 2.0Ryan Burner 1.8 2.3 1.3Sarah Burns 8.5 2.2 5.1Dennis Burns 2.0 2.3 1.0Helga Burns 2.0 2.3 1.0Sean Burns 10.5 2.8 6.8


20



Marie Granshaw 16.1 8.0 28.8Matt Gray 5.3 2.8 2.1John Green 11.1 12.8Margaret Green 11.1 12.8Phil Green 9.1 9.6Rhoda Green 7.5 5.7 12.0Scott Gremel 2.2 0.5 2.4Carol Griswold 9.6 6.2 7.8Nona Groesbeck 6.0 6.5 6.4Richard Groesbeck 13.2 16.9 16.0Cheryl Grovette 2.2 0.7 2.0Guest 73.1 46.6 56.0Kathy Gunther 2.8 1.0 1.5Lynn Hadley 3.3 3.8 3.2Bill Hager 6.5 2.0 5.1Meg Hahr 8.1 35.8 15.4Macy Hallin 4.7 1.3 6.4Mary Hamann 12.0 24.0 10.4Kim Handley 10.7 1.0 1.8Lisa Harkins 1.2 1.5 1.3Gary Harmon 5.0 7.0 4.1Sandra Harold 0.8 0.7 0.8Betty Harris 1.4 1.0 1.5Patricia Harris 11.7 8.0 5.5Scott Harris 5.5 8.0 2.0Bea Harrison 5.3 2.0 3.0Jim Harrison 5.3 2.0 3.0Jack Hartt 2.3 1.9 3.5Jon Harwood 1.8 0.3 2.0Ian Haskins 1.8 5.9 3.9John Hatch 17.9 2.1 9.0Janice Havrilak 54.6 9.3 48.7Lynne Hawley 1.1 0.2 1.0John Haxton 8.5 3.1 11.2Carl Haynie 4.8 11.5 5.4Matt Haynie 5.6 11.5 6.6Jill Hein 28.3 26.4 51.0Andrea Hepburn 3.3 1.0 1.6Connie Herzig 18.3 58.5 23.1Tom Herzig 18.3 58.5 23.1Barb Holler 1.4 0.3 1.7Karin Holser 19.1 12.3 21.6Rayna Holtz 34.5 2.0 18.0Scott Horton 11.9 11.3 14.5Nate Hunter 1.9 3.0 3.0Pamela Hunter 13.9 16.5 16.5John Hunter 15.0 18.0 18.0Pattie Hutchins 13.2 7.5 7.0Nick Iannelli 1.3 4.5 4.8Jon Ihde 7.2 0.3 6.0LaVonna Ihde 7.2 0.3 6.0Ruth Iversen 1.0 0.5 0.6Jeanne Iverson 21.1 20.7 7.2JoAnn Jackson 10.8 5.8 13.2Jeff Jacobsen 3.7 2.3 4.0Ruth Jenkins 1.5 7.0 2.5Merrill Jensen 18.8 8.7 25.4Caroline Jezierski 0.4 2.0 0.7Adrian Johanson 1.0 0.5 1.6Damien Johanson 1.0 0.5 1.6Keith Johanson 5.7 2.5 8.0

Jack Doyle 3.1 0.8 2.0Laura Doyle 9.0 3.3 6.0Brie Drummond 6.0 7.8Clarence Dubpernell 2.0 2.0 3.4Sandy Dubpernell 33.8 32.1 61.2Patrick East 1.8 0.7 2.0Kathy East 9.1 4.4 14.0Dave Easton 39.3 20.5 28.1Dalene Edgar 31.0 5.0 16.9Don Edgar 28.6 5.0 16.9Brent Edwards 2.5 1.3 0.4Susan Ehler 13.6 1.8 8.1Kaci Elder 1.3 0.1 0.4Dixon Elder 0.9 0.7 2.2Mark Elliott 6.3 1.1 4.8Nick Elliott 3.0 8.0 2.5Ann Elliott 28.8 41.2 34.5Martha Ellul 24.1 3.0 32.0John Emig 3.7 3.7 6.0Joyce Epler 13.9 16.5 59.4John Epler 14.6 17.3 62.1Raymond Estrada 6.1 5.8 3.0Lucretia Fairchild 17.9 25.2 13.6Phil Faulkner 2.0 0.4 1.0Rebekka Federer 10.2 1.9 9.9Shirley Fedora 5.3 3.0 2.4Don Fermer 1.9 1.7 2.0Melissa Fielding 6.7 0.8 6.0Mike Fielding 6.7 0.8 6.0Sheila Fiepke 1.5 0.8 2.4Field Trip 78.2 100.3 47.3Peter Fineo 11.0 2.8 10.2Nancy Fischer 15.3 10.3 11.6Sarah Fivgas 1.6 1.3 2.0Lin Folsom 6.5 0.9 3.6Gail Fontaine 1.5 0.3 1.2Burton Foote 22.5 30.4 18.9Rose Forbes 22.7 6.3 21.0Rick Foster 9.5 2.0 4.0Andrea Fowler 4.7 3.5 5.7Zeke Fowler 4.7 3.5 5.7Gary Freitag 10.6 8.8 6.9Ellie Friars 10.5 1.1 22.0John Friars 10.5 1.1 22.0Marilyn Friedrich 29.5 3.3 45.0Ron Frisch 21.7 0.1 30.0Jane Frost 1.5 0.5 1.6Chelsey Funis 2.8 3.7 3.2Sue Gabriel 17.7 1.7 16.0Varian Gacek 11.8 6.8 14.4Rebecca Gamboa 1.5 0.7 1.0Finn Gatewood 19.2 5.0 13.0Carol Gatewood 14.5 6.0 24.0Sharon Gearhart 4.8 7.8 3.6Derek Gill 1.5 0.5 0.7Sue Gilleland 20.3 13.5 26.7John Ging 1.4 0.7 0.5Linda Ging 4.7 1.7 2.1Dave Gittleman 3.9 2.0 3.0Karen Gittleman 3.9 2.0 3.0Tom Golding 22.7 6.3 21.0

21


Jann Luesse 17.5 22.8 14.4Sanny Lustig 5.0 4.0 4.8Kathy Maas 8.8 5.2 2.9Pat MacRobbie 7.8 13.9 8.1Stuart MacRobbie 7.8 13.9 8.1Barb Mallon 17.9 2.1 9.0Charlotte Maloney 1.4 2.0 1.7Jim Maloney 1.4 2.0 1.7Timothy Manns 14.0 9.1 9.8Vicki Mansfield 34.6 4.7 54.0Jerry Marinovich 1.9 0.8 1.0Bill Marks 2.2 0.3 1.4Jane Marks 21.0 5.5 21.2Jerry Marsh 13.2 4.0 12.0Mary Marsh 14.8 4.5 15.3Debbie Marshall 9.1 1.8 4.0Dian Martin 0.5 1.5 1.1Lani Marvick 8.3 2.8 24.5Dian Mastin 1.3 1.3 1.1Lisa Matlock 9.6 8.8 9.0Barb Matter 15.0 6.0 12.8Mike McAllister 3.9 3.3 2.6Kate McClain 7.4 1.3 3.2Pat McClintick 5.8 1.0 3.6Russ McClintick 7.9 1.7 6.0Mo McClintock 6.0 7.8Kenny McCoy 2.7 1.7 3.3Judith McDougall 6.7 0.8 6.0Gary McDowell 10.6 0.9 20.0Mary McDowell 10.6 0.9 20.0Melissa McDowell 13.5 1.3 10.4Brooke McFarland 7.4 4.6 7.0Vicki McNeil 10.8 6.3 22.0Paul Melovidov 4.7 2.5 9.0Tracie Merrill 3.4 2.1 1.5Sharon Metcalf 3.5 1.1 7.7Michelle Michaud 15.5 9.0 9.0Anne Middleton 7.8 0.4 5.0Katlin Miller 0.8 1.8 2.0Bobbye Miller 9.2 2.2 6.0John Miller 2.0 4.0 1.4Marilyn Miller 2.5 4.0 1.0Christopher Millow 0.5 0.5 1.2Claudia Mischler 6.7 4.7 8.1Gary Montesano 9.0 2.6 7.0Dianna Moore 22.7 3.7 13.6Kareen Moriarty-Kalvin 2.4 0.2 1.3Elizabeth Moundalexis 3.2 0.3 2.7Cindy Moyer 22.6 16.7 26.0Jim Mraz 24.8 6.3 16.0Patricia Muchmore 1.7 3.9 1.8Ariel Muldoon 11.1 9.2 6.7Janet Mullen 4.3 2.5 8.5Robert Mullen 4.3 2.5 8.5Michael Murphy 1.5 0.2 1.4Bree Murphy 2.6 1.0 3.0Susan Murphy 15.3 3.2 14.0Carolyn Murphy 11.5 3.5 26.0Lorre Myers 9.3 16.8 7.2Sue Nattinger 87.1 116.0 100.9Sharon Nelson 80.5 120.0


Anita Johnason 1.0 0.5 1.6Gary Johnson 2.3 0.5 4.0Dick Johnson 9.4 1.3 16.0Mary Johnson 14.6 3.5 18.0Scott Johnson 10.5 3.9 4.0Ingri Johnson 13.7 4.2 11.0Bert Johnstone 34.1 8.0 38.4Marilyn Jones 23.8 6.1 24.4Dustin Jones 14.5 8.3 29.0Penelope Juttner 8.0 1.8 14.9Mike Kaill 24.0 38.5 23.1Carl Kalb 2.1 0.5 1.7Mark Kansteiner 4.9 2.0 4.0Sue Keilman 56.6 34.0 48.2Barbara Keithly 2.0 1.0 0.8Jennifer Kelley 1.3 1.0 1.4Meghan Kelly 0.4 0.8 0.5Colleen Kelly 4.8 2.0 4.0Jim Kerr 5.9 5.8 4.7Matthias Kerschbaum 0.9 0.3 0.3Phyllis Kind 32.3 10.5 33.6Amber King 2.0 0.7 1.9Grace King 7.7 7.0 6.7Ryan Kingsbery 4.5 3.5 6.3Valerie Knox 24.5 8.2 18.7Gary Korb 15.4 4.2 4.8Tamara Krall 9.0 13.3 6.0Bradley Krall 18.6 32.3 14.4Jan Kummet 2.4 1.0 1.5Yvonne Kuperberg 21.5 1.3 12.0Linda LaMay 9.2 1.3 17.6Mac LaMay 12.7 1.8 24.2Laurie Lamm 5.7 4.0 2.2Jim Lamont 14.2 15.7 13.2Janet Lamont 17.8 22.4 17.7Barbra Landi 3.2 1.3 4.0Audrey Lara 2.9 6.0 3.2Frank Lara 2.9 6.0 3.2Laurie Lawrence 1.6 0.8 1.0Peter Lawrence 5.5 7.5 4.0Don Leak 4.0 1.5 3.6Joyce Leak 4.3 1.5 3.6Amy Lester 9.8 1.6 12.3Lauren Lester 12.5 2.0 14.1Gary Lester 23.3 3.8 28.5Bev Leyman 4.2 11.0 3.0Larry Leyman 6.7 18.5 5.5Brian Linnell 7.3 17.0 3.2Kathy Linnell 16.5 49.8 9.6Barbara Linnett 15.3 0.2 8.0Peter Linton 52.0 18.3 33.0Tina Lipman 10.3 8.0 4.0Sky Lloyd 29.1 3.5 27.3Robina Loken 1.8 1.1 2.2Lorenzo Lopez 8.2 26.3 9.5Mary Lou Letsom 6.5 2.3 5.1Whitney Lowe 1.8 2.0 1.3Camilla Loyd 4.0 0.7 4.0David Loyd 3.1 1.0 6.0Julia Loyd 44.2 6.0 36.0Nicole Luce 9.7 7.8 14.0

22


Vic Nelson 150.0 223.5Isabelle Nelson 2.3 0.7 2.3Ethel Nelson 2.6 0.8 2.0Pete Nelson 5.1 1.2 4.6Pat Ness 7.3 4.0 2.0Steve Ness 18.6 18.5 18.0Wade Newbegin 18.4 3.5 16.0Nancy Newman 21.5 9.0 19.2Darlene Nichols 3.1 18.0 1.2Griffin Nickerson 1.5 0.1 1.0Kathleen Nickerson 2.3 0.3 2.0Gus Ninneman 8.0 2.5 7.0Kathleen Ninneman 7.1 3.0 7.0John Noland 6.7 3.5 4.8Rod Norvell 46.8 19.1 48.6Chuck O’Clair 11.0 18.2 4.2Janet Oja 11.2 21.8 17.0Eric Ollikainen 1.2 0.5 1.6Carolyn Ollikainen 61.7 23.8 67.2Robert Ollikainen 106.4 38.0 120.0Heidi Olson 15.7 24.6 21.6Tim Olson 15.7 24.6 21.6Margaret Owens 7.3 4.0 2.0Connie Owston 7.2 1.4 7.5Pete Owston 14.9 4.0 16.0Andy Palmer 4.7 1.0 12.3Bill Palmer 2.0 1.0 0.8Aaron Parker 3.7 0.2 2.0Paul Parker 29.6 8.9 19.4Sally Parker 29.6 8.9 19.4Doug Parkinson 7.2 3.3 6.0Dan Pascucci 0.5 0.3 1.0Mike Patterson 1.3 1.6Barbara Patton 18.1 2.0 15.6Mike Patton 73.3 10.3 70.8Joelle Pebbles 1.3 1.3 2.0Rod Pelson 10.6 4.3 12.8Sheila Pera 14.5 1.7 12.6Thomas Perry 2.1 0.4 2.4Vicki Perry 6.3 1.1 4.8Kris Phillips 1.0 3.8 1.7Jolene Poppe 2.5 5.5 4.8Bill Poppe 15.3 24.5 17.6George Power 38.1 7.2 38.8Rosaleen Power 38.1 7.2 38.8David Pratt 2.1 7.2 5.3Pat Pritchard 2.0 0.3 1.0Jaci Pumphrey 4.6 4.0 2.4Jeanne Pumphrey 14.0 12.0 26.4Janet Raffensperger 1.3 0.2 1.6Paul Raffensperger 10.0 3.8 9.6Daniel Ravenel 7.3 4.6 9.2Dick Reese 28.4 14.0 11.6Lauren Reinalda 11.7 11.3 8.1Bruce René 4.2 0.8 1.7Cari René 4.2 0.8 1.7Patrick Reynolds 17.5 31.7 16.0Tom Richards 18.5 6.8 11.2Rich Ridenhour 5.4 3.3 4.0Terry Risdon 5.6 11.5 6.6William Ritchie 27.0 44.0 17.6


Jim Roberts 29.3 94.1 12.1Linda Robertson 9.0 7.3 3.0Betsy Robins 16.8 4.8 7.0Holly Robinson 4.5 0.3 12.8Glenn Rogge 1.2 1.0 1.2Judy Rost 3.9 2.0 3.0Ina Rowley 8.3 2.8 24.5Cathy Ruland 5.0 1.0 2.4Jessica Ryan 10.2 7.7 11.0Karla Sabin 0.8 0.5 0.3Maura Santora 2.3 0.5 2.0Ashley Saupe 1.3 1.0 0.6Will Schlein 2.3 0.3 2.0Dave Schmalz 3.2 4.0 4.0Kristine Schmidt 5.5 2.1 6.0Nathan Schmidt 4.6 2.8 5.4Pat Schoen 4.1 9.0 5.1Michael Schrimpf 3.7 3.8 2.4Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin 1.6 0.2 1.7Michael Scott 13.8 4.3 12.8Bette Seaman 7.4 1.8 9.6Justine Sears 2.6 2.0 1.1Heather Severy 3.2 3.2 1.0Mary Shackelford 5.0 0.3 3.0Sue Shane 31.8 13.0 24.8Traudl Sharp 8.0 2.3 5.8Tom Sharp 12.8 5.8 8.7Julie Simmons 3.4 6.0 1.9Nan Simpson 1.0 0.7 0.5Lori Sinnen 18.1 32.3 16.0John Skinner 4.4 8.7 1.8Julie Skopal 12.6 16.0 9.5Laura Slater 0.3 0.2 0.6Leslie Slater 2.4 1.4 1.0Mark Smaalders 10.5 9.9 7.5Steve Small 17.8 6.3 10.6Elizabeth Smith 3.2 0.5 7.0Jim Smith 9.8 1.4 15.4Max Smith 29.4 90.0 38.4 Randy Smith 3.5 1.2 7.7 Richard Smith 27.3 19.7 32.0Linda Songer 5.8 6.8 6.0Kristine Sowl 29.0 30.7 28.5Nanci Spear 1.0 0.3 1.5Peggy Speer 36.3 7.3 35.2Caroline Spehar 12.8 17.2 4.8Katie Spellman 2.0 1.0 1.0Ann Spiers 3.0 2.2Gayla Spratt-Nuffer 9.8 18.2 10.3Al Standish 13.5 11.3 22.0Ann Stark 4.7 0.7 8.4Doug Stark 11.6 1.5 18.9Latresha Starling 78.6 3.6 59.8Sumer Starling 78.2 3.6 59.8Arlene Stebbins 15.8 6.0 19.2Carol Steele 12.2 1.4 11.2Pete Steen 11.8 4.5 14.4Wendy Steffensen 1.0 2.0 2.0Jesse Stewart 9.4 1.3 16.0Shaylon Stolk 0.9 0.5 1.5Linda Story 4.5 3.8 6.0

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Eftin Strong 9.7 29.5 6.6Ingrid Strong 9.7 29.5 6.6Laurie Stuart 7.2 5.2 8.0Dave Sturdevant 7.8 2.3 3.6Kim Sundberg 10.0 0.8 19.2Sarah Swanson 29.4 90.0 38.4Chris Szymoniak 1.0 1.0 1.6Brenda Taylor 13.2 5.6 15.3Phil Taylor 13.2 5.6 15.3Greg Thomson 3.3 4.4 8.0Dan Thorington 17.9 8.0 41.6Marcia Thorniley 2.2 0.7 2.0Annie Thorp 3.8 6.0 3.3Doris Tieder 4.0 3.2 4.4John Tieder 9.7 7.3 10.2William Tiederman 2.2 5.8 2.7Debbie Tobin 1.4 0.3 1.0Bob Toby 16.5 5.5 17.6Marcia Toby 16.5 5.5 17.6Jim Todd 20.4 33.0 42.0Floyd Tomkins 6.4 2.3 6.0Emily Tompkins 5.4 2.7 3.3Tanya Treat 1.0 0.1 1.0Chris Trella 2.1 7.2 5.3Judy Trieber 0.6 0.3 0.3Dan Tupper 5.3 6.6 8.0Patty Tupper 5.3 6.6 8.0Kelley Turner 6.8 3.0 9.6Anneka van Doorninck 15.0 21.6Wolter van Doorninck 48.8 72.0Barbara VanderWerf 2.0 0.5 1.7Chet Vincent 11.6 9.0 13.5Dee Vixie 7.3 9.3 5.3Carol Volk 15.4 4.2 4.8Frank Vondersaar 11.4 4.3 12.0Neil Wagner 9.2 3.2 9.6Stan Wagner 22.8 8.8 19.2Darlene Wahl 12.3 9.5 24.0Becky Wanless 7.4 2.2 19.6Elizabeth Warfield 3.1 6.4 2.6Richard Warner 2.5 1.0 3.0Hank Warren 23.5 17.7 24.0Raedell Warren 23.5 17.7 24.0John Warrick 1.5 7.0 2.5Greg Waters 0.3 1.0 1.2Elizabeth Watkins 2.0 1.0 1.6Pat Watt 5.0 7.2 5.4Dick Weisbrod 2.1 6.0 3.3Patricia Went 12.2 1.4 11.2Josh Wentz 0.8 1.8 1.4Don Wester 8.4 18.0 11.7Linda Wester 8.4 18.0 11.7Don Wheeler 33.6 8.0 13.2Grace Wheeler 36.6 9.0 15.4Patricia Wherry 2.6 2.0 1.1Christina Whiting 11.7 2.0 14.0Monika Wieland 1.5 2.0 1.5Rainer Wieland 1.5 5.7 1.5 Vera Wieland 1.0 5.0 1.0Carolyn Wilcox 2.5 1.7Don Wilkin 8.6 2.5 11.9



Wendy Williams 46.7 24.0 20.8Kitty Willis 1.0 0.3 2.8Caren Willoughby 4.4 2.0 3.0Brian Wilson 12.6 16.0 9.5Pam Winstanley 13.6 3.5 16.0Peter Witschi 14.9 18.0 13.2Elise Wolfe 6.4 4.0 4.6Kathleen Wolgemuth 27.3 3.9 15.2Evan Wood 0.9 0.3 1.5Christine Wood 13.4 4.6 10.0Jeff Wood 14.3 4.9 13.3Jen Wright 0.6 0.3 0.8Ami Wright 10.8 7.7 5.4Randy York 9.9 1.3 16.0Pat Young 7.8 0.4 5.0Steve Young 12.0 7.0 10.0Darrell Yount 6.3 20.5 7.5Jan Yount 13.6 40.3 18.0Samantha Zacharof 4.9 3.6 12.0Sue Zalokar 8.3 6.8 10.4Phillip Zavadil 5.8 2.8 10.0Kay Zeleny 16.1 8.0 28.8Merrie Ziady 13.0 4.2 14.4Jon Ziady 20.8 6.7 22.4George Ziminsky 15.9 6.8 14.6

totals 7308 4448 6787

* Volunteer effort June 2008–May 2009

RemembrancesBent BlichfeldtBorn in Copenhagen, Denmark, Bent came to the United States to work at Boeing as a structural engineer. And with engineering precision, he never missed a survey in six years of volunteering for COASST—a demonstration of his commitment, generosity and love of nature, which also saw him scuba diving, camping, hiking, boating, and birding.

Donald Stuart “Stu” MacRobbieA psychiatrist by training, Stu retired to Sequim with wife Pat, and quickly became a champion for environmental issues on the Olympic Peninsula. We will remember Stu for his wit and wisdom, and the countless hours he donated to COASST. “COASST is truly the most exciting learning experience I have discovered since microscopic anatomy in med school! Pat and I are with the program 100%.”

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From left, Jann, Lori, Pat, (Tom and Gretel—joining for the

Coastal Cleanup) out for a sunny, but chilly, survey.

Volunteer Spotlight Jann Luesse, Lori Sinnen, Pat Reynolds— Oregon Mile 327At a COASST social, Lori and Pat get greeted with, “oh you’re the ones that find all the cool birds!” This story begins in 2002, when Jann, Lori, Pat (and previously Mike, Debbie and Jim) first put their new ID skills to work. Lori explains, “the possibility of learning to identify birds by their feet really intrigued me—I’d avoided science my whole life because I couldn’t understand it.”

But there’s been no shortage of feet to practice on over the years, from the Black-footed Albatross (one of two, one banded in the Hawaiian Islands chain) to the tiniest of birds—a single Western Sandpiper and a couple of Fork-tailed and Leach’s Storm-petrels. Either way, Pat always looks forward to the chance to examine the pelagic species up close, “I’m still surprised at how small storm-petrels are—love the graceful, slim curve of their bills and the rich color of their plumage.” Lori and Pat travel from Portland, which tends to wrack up the travel hours, but for Lori, “any chance to walk the Oregon coast is worth a trip from Portland or farther.”

With the beach just outside her doorstep, Jann’s feet touch the sand every day, and COASST has given her a totally new way to look at something she sees daily. “I’ve learned so much from participating in the program. Now I know that high numbers of dead birds, especially chicks, are not always an indicator of doom.” Communicating to the public that death is a part of life, and not all death is “bad,” is important. “It’s very reassuring to many concerned people I talk to on the beach,” adds Jann, “what a great way to spend a day.”

Gary, Lauren and Amy Lester—Murray Road and Crannell BeachAs the saying goes, “A family that does science together stays together.” Well… that’s how the saying goes in the Lester household, anyway. Gary, a consulting botanist and wildlife biologist, and Lauren, a seasonal field botanist who works with Gary, are also avid birders. Since the 1970s, they have been active in citizen science projects, including the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Snowy Plover nesting surveys and shorebird migration surveys, to name a few. Not surprising that their college-bound middle daughter Amy has taken an interest in citizen science as well. She enjoys “the science and community aspects of beach surveying and spending time with my dad.”

Trained in 2008, the Lester family took on two beaches, Murray Road and Crannell Beach along the Clam Beach stretch in Arcata, California. It wasn’t long before their reputation for rare live bird sightings was expanded to a passion for interesting beach-bound discoveries. Since their first survey, Gary, Lauren and Amy have found two dead Harbor Seals, six California Sea Lions, one deer, one cow, a bicycle, a shopping cart, two messages in bottles, and one Long-nosed Lancetfish,

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Out surveying Moonstone Beach, Lauren, Amy and Gary

pause with pooch Lizzy for a family photo.C

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Kristine and seasonal staff, Andy and Ryan (barefoot,

and holding the bear gun), investigate a bird find on

Neumann Island.

the latter earning Lauren a front-page photo in the Times-Standard. And, that’s not counting the 165 beached birds they’ve found!

“COASST surveys allow us (and our eager Labrador Retriever Lizzy) to get out regularly on our beaches. We’re lucky to have such spectacular coastal resources at our back door,” says Gary. But their commitment and enthusiasm doesn’t stop at simply getting out on the beach. In the past year, the Lesters have recruited and trained three new COASSTers, making Gary, Lauren, and Amy responsible for two new sites. Go team!

Ultimately, notes Lauren, COASST surveys create a sense of community among citizens who want to be “in tune with the coastal processes at their beaches.”

Kristine Sowl, Lucretia Fairchild, Audrey Bohl, Gary Titus—Cape Glazenap, NE Neumann IslandDoes your COASST pre-survey checklist include waders, life jacket, marine radio, flares, shot gun, first-aid kit and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Probably not (except for the sandwich), which, as Audrey describes, “always taste better when you are doing a COASST survey.”

For this survey team based in Cold Bay, Alaska, there’s never a dull moment. “Even trying to find Cape Glazenap in thick fog is difficult,” remarks Kristine. “We’ve been alerted by a snorting sound that a bear was less than 100 feet away.”

Kristine, who initiated surveys within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge back in 2006, found out about

left: All systems go—Audrey, ready to

take off in Izembek National Wildlife

Refuge’s Super Cub airplane.

right: Coconut! In the Bering Sea?!

Lucretia measures up to this cool find.

COASST in a Marine Mammal Stranding Network meeting in Homer. “The program was well developed and something I could easily implement,” she recalls, “and it fit well with the Refuge’s mission to assess ecosystems and provide an oil spill baseline.”

With lots of sand to cover, Lucretia, Audrey and Gary were recruited by Kristine and picked up the baton after she left in 2009, continuing the pursuit of all things beached: birds, including a Red-legged Kittiwake in May, glass balls (they’re actually quite common), walrus vertebrae, a coconut, sea otters, and HUGE piles of kelp. Their work has sprouted two new beaches, Trout Creek and Cold Bay-Dock South, with help from Jim, Elizabeth, Mandy and Chase (who runs the only bar in town at the Bearfoot Inn). Everyone agrees with Mandy, “each time we prepare to go out to do a survey, there is a sense of anticipation of a good find.”

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Late at night, hours past when most COASSTers have turned out the lights, Shaun Walbridge is working away. On a black screen, a flashing cursor moves up, down and through a slew of white letters—it’s computer code, an intricate language of commands and formulas that form the backbone of the COASST website.

After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BS degree in Physical Geography, Shaun scored his job as the GIS Analyst for the Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). At NCEAS, ecologists from all over the world come together to “crunch” data and look for patterns. Working at the Center involves some pretty large data sets, but that’s about where the similarities with COASST end. On any given day, he might be connecting 15 different people in four time zones on a virtual workspace, querying a database of global climate fluctuation, or tweaking a model exploring how landscape plays a role in plant genetics.

In fact, that’s how Shaun met Julia, COASST’s Executive Director, who came to NCEAS on her sabbatical in 2002. Always in motion, no matter the project, Julia was quick to introduce Shaun to COASST. “I think some of the first words out of her mouth were something like how about we put these skills to work for citizen science?” And so began a myriad of changes and improvements to coasst.org—find-a-beach map function, a completely new data entry system, updated beach stats by region and COASST top ten graphs.

“Probably the biggest challenge for me is keeping the broader commu-nity of COASST in mind; how should we display COASST results? how can we streamline data entry? how does the COASST site look on older computers?” As everyone knows, COASST volunteers aren’t shy about giving feedback. It’s Shaun who turns these comments into website reality. For volunteers that have been with COASST long enough to remember the old site, there’s no comparison.

Most birds in one survey: 41 (Latresha and Sumer Starling, Cranberry S.)

Most surveys: 148 (Vic Nelson, Point No Point)

Most amount of time spent in the rain while surveying: 15.6 hours (Mike Patton, S. Butterclam)

Most people seen on one survey: 280 (Chelsey Funis, Alki Beach)

Most dogs seen on one survey: 26 (Wendy Williams, Agate Beach)

Longest survey: 8 hours (Peggy Speer, Oregon Mile 196)

Shortest survey: 5 minutes Tie: (Eagle Cove, Bill Tiederman and Dick Weisbrod) and (West Obstruction, Larry and Bev Leyman)

Coldest survey: 10°F (Kristine Sowl, NW Cold Bay)

Warmest survey: 90°F (Rayna Holtz and Yvonne Kuperberg, Cove South)

Most beaches surveyed: 7 (Rod Norvell—Dungeness Spit, Miles 0–5; Kalaloch N; Kalaloch S)

Partner Profile: Shaun Walbridge/NCEAS

Above: Shaun takes a break from the office to hang with the birds—just a

little trim off the top, Paulo. Courtesy of S. Walbridge

COASSTers at a Glance

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Thanks also to the following people and organizations for sup-porting COASST surveys, projects, volunteer trainings and events: Alaska Islands and Ocean Center; Heidi Herter and Alaska SeaGrant; Alaska SeaLife Center; Aquilina Lestenkof and the Aleut Community of St. Paul; Beth Trowbridge and the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies; David Freed and Clallam County BeachWatchers; Phillip Johnson and CoastWatch, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition; Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (NWR); Friday Harbor Laboratories; Humboldt Bay NWR; Laura Slater and Island Trails Network, Inc.; Kenai Fjords National Park; Tina Shaw, Lisa Polito and Kodiak NWR; Lincoln City Audubon; Makah Natural Resources; Olympic National Park; Jan Hodder and Oregon Institute of Marine Biology; Rob Suryan and Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center; Quileute Natural Resources; Quinault Natural Resources; Ami Wright and the Res-urrection Bay Conservation Alliance; The SeaDoc Society; Adria Banks and Skagit County Beachwatchers; Chrys Bertolotto and Snohomish County BeachWatchers; Tom Sharp and The Trinidad Museum; Phil Zavadil and St. Paul ECO.

COASST Funding

F u N D I N G S O u R C E Suniversity of Washington 34% In-kind 29% Foundations 21% Agencies 14%Earned Income 1% Private/Corporate Donations 1%

E x P E N S E SVolunteer Training, Communication & Public Outreach 33% Special Projects 32% Data Verification & Analysis 20% Program Management 10%Fundraising 5%

At the start of a summer, when nearly all economic forecasts predicted doom and gloom, COASST pulled through, with continued support from agen-cy and foundation partnerships, to meet an annual budget of $200,000. COASST volunteers matched every penny and then some with an additional $228,000 in volunteer time.

Sponsors, large and small, all contribute to COASST’s success. This year, Andrea Fowler made contributions to COASST through the volunteer time-matching program of Microsoft. Many em-ployers offer matching time and/or gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations like COASST.

Donations to COASST through the University of Washington Foundation are tax deductible: http://depts.washington.edu/coasst/involved/giving.html

June 2008–May 2009COASST would like to thank the sponsors who provided support during 2008–2009:

Operational SupportLowell A. and Frankie L. Wakefield Endowed Professorship NOAA Fisheries UW Program on the Environment

Special ProjectsNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation North Pacific Research Board Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife World Wildlife Fund

In-Kind SupportAlaska Maritime National Wildlife RefugeCable Markers Co., Inc.Olympic Coast National Marine SanctuaryUW School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences

Individual DonationsDean and Diane Schwickerath Grace and Don WheelerLinda Hageman Tom and Connie Herzig

E. Wagner

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COASST Reports Team

Contributors Penelope Chilton Jane Dolliver

Editor Julia K. Parrish

Graphic Designer Cathy Schwartz

Illustrations Valerie Sloane

COASST Contact Info

Website www.coasst.org

Email [email protected]

Phone, main office 206-221-6893

Phone, OCNMS office 360-457-6622, ext. 31

Executive Director Julia K. Parrish 206-221-5787 [email protected]

COASST MissionThe Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) is a citizen science project focused on the coastal areas of the North Pacific. COASST believes citizens of coastal communities are essential scientific partners in monitoring marine ecosystem health. By collaborating with citizens, natural resource management agencies and environmental organizations, COASST works to translate long-term monitoring into effective marine conservation solutions.

Reports 08–09Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey TeamSchool of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesBox 355020University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-5020

Printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled

paper using biodegradable inks by University of

Washington Creative Communications

breaking news - university of washington · breaking news reports 08–09 cindy moyer, john emig,...

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